White County HCE holds annual luncheon

The White County Home and Community Education held their annual ham and bean luncheon Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the University of Illinois Extension Office on College Avenue in Carmi. The luncheon served many purposes, including displays for Heritage Skills Day.

The White County Home and Community Education held their annual ham and bean luncheon Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the University of Illinois Extension Office on College Avenue in Carmi. The luncheon served many purposes, including displays for Heritage Skills Day.

"We are selecting items today that have been brought in to take to our conference at Effingham," said Ludene Taylor. "There are 16 categories to take to state and we have those in attendance today voting on which items will be taken."

Taylor, a retired art teacher from the Norris City school district, provided Memory Bouquets for each of the tables as centerpieces for the luncheon. The colorful bouquets included photos of members and functions throughout the year for the HCE organization. More than 30 people were in attendance for the luncheon, including members and guests of the organization.

The ham and bean luncheon was provided free of charge by the board members of HCE. The full spread included the traditional ham and bean entrée complemented by salad, cornbread, slaw and homemade desserts.

Also, a quilt show was included with the luncheon along with entertainment provided by Riley and Rachael Peyton of Enfield. The girls, age 10 and nine, respectively, sang "All in All" and "Farther Along." Their mother, Anita, also provided some lunchtime music with a few numbers on her harp.

Ruth Norris serves as president of the HCE board in White County, which includes members from Carmi, Norris City, Enfield, Crossville, Grayville and all points in between. The club currently has 105 members and has six units, three in Carmi and three in Norris City. The units meet once a month and the board, which is comprised of members from all the units, meets once a month as well.

"This luncheon is to show off what we can do," said Norris, who has been involved with HCE for the past 20 years. "We have different crafts from recycled items and photography to knitting and more traditional items. We will choose the best to go to the state conference in March at Effingham. Clubs from all over the state will be there and there are usually 400 in attendance."

White County HCE was initially formed in 1940 as a farm bureau organization known as Home Bureau. The name changed over the years and is now known as HCE, which is a not for profit state organization.

The ladies of HCE stay very active year round with numerous philanthropic events. They help with 4-H and assist with the pre-K funfest each fall. They also stepped up to assist with the disaster preparedness program offered at the City Council room last spring where weather radios were distributed and programmed for area residents.

Ongoing projects for HCE include collections for veterans, folders for autistic children at Carbondale and blood drives, making them a full service family organization.

Page 2 of 2 - White County HCE does hold a fish fry each fall to raise funds to send their board members to the state conference. The organization also hosts an annual Spring Style Show, which is set for Saturday, April 20 at the Floral Hall. Tickets will be available soon for the salad lunch and style show, which will begin at 11 a.m.

Tammy Knox can be reached at 382-4176. Follow her on Twitter @tammycarmitimes.